Section: US & Canada
The World’s Most Popular Gun Is Getting A Fashion Line
There are already upwards of 70 million AK-47s in circulation worldwide. But amid unrest global criticism of Moscow and EU and US sanctions, the state-owned Russian company responsible for the gun’s production is trying to rebrand itself. In Moscow on Tuesday, the Siberian company behind the rifle unveiled new slogans (“protecting...
More Than 50% of Russians Want Another Decade of Putin
More than half of all Russians support president Vladimir Putin and would like to see him re-elected after his current term runs out in 2018, according to a poll by Russian pollster the Levada Centre. Asked if they would like to see Putin return as president after the next presidential election, 58% said they would, while only 19% said they would...
The Incredible Stories Behind 35 Powerful Photos Taken This Year
It’s been an eventful year, and we’ve seen many striking photos from all over the world. They spark a range of emotions, from sorrow to joy, outrage to hope. But we often never learn the full story behind a photo, all the factors at work that put a brave photographer in the middle of the action to get the shot. A number of noted...
‘No Big Brother!’ Ukrainian Journalists Oppose Kyiv’s New Ministry Of Information
Ukrainian journalists are protesting the government’s creation of a new Ministry of Information that Kyiv says is needed to confront Russian propaganda. Some journalists fear their own efforts to gather truth could become subject to oversight. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Ukraine says nuclear plant fault cuts power
Ukraine’s energy minister insisted the incident poses no danger. …read more Source: USA...
The Drilldown: Prentice’s pipeline push turns into a listening tour
Get the Drilldown brief straight to their inbox each weekday. Just click here. ~ • ~ The Lead Alberta Premier Jim Prentice’s eastern adventure hasn’t yet moved popular interest in TransCanada Corp.’s Energy East pipeline, though his soft power approach has cooled the rhetoric around energy. After a fortnight that saw...
The Skype Psychologist
As I prepare for my first session of the day, I settle down at my computer, log onto my Skype account, and review the completed questionnaire emailed to me by a prospective client. The hour ahead will be an initial consultation. It’s early morning in my time zone, late in the evening for him: Because of the time difference between Sydney,...
The Battle For Pisky – The Village That’s Key To Controlling Donetsk Airport
Despite the announcement of a new cease-fire around Donetsk, there have been reports of continued fighting around the airport and the nearby village of Pisky. Here, a mix of Ukrainian government forces, volunteer battalions, and Right Sector nationalists have been fighting artillery duels with Russian-backed separatists. RFE/RL visited the...
Western sanctions, ruble crash hit Russians hard
People walk past a display with currency exchange rates at Kievskaya (Kiev’s) railway station in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. Poor and middle-class Russians are increasingly challe… …read more Source: The Bismarck...
Landmine injuries down worldwide but Canada needs to boost support, says new report
The international treaty to ban landmines signed in Ottawa on Dec. 3, 1997, is slowly eradicating the production and use of the crippling weapons, according to a study released Wednesday. Landmine Monitor, an annual report by the Nobel-prize winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), says that fewer people were killed and injured by...
